Systems Approach To Pm151208icfai

Systems Perspective to Project Management

Project Management The term Project Management (PM) could mean anything, from the tasks undertaken at operating level by the Project Management team to strategic functions performed by top management It may include collection of relevant progress data, carrying out routine analysis and presentation for regular progress monitoring on predefined parameters, by support staff, to the critical resource acquisition, deployment and boundary management functions by the head of the project / CEO. The perception depends on the respondent, his functional role and area of specialization, his hierarchical level in the project / organization, and at what phase of the project he/she is in, at the time of eliciting an answer. The aggregation of the variety of responses from across levels and functions, encompass Project Management. The variety of responses also reflect the complexity and enormity of the task of Project Managers. Project Management can be undertaken by an individual, a small team or even a large division within a business organization, depending on the nature, size, duration and value of the project,,complexity, the client for whom the work is being executed, the regulatory / geographical contexts within which the project is undertaken, the business model adopted (mere execution vs PPP models such as BOOT, BOT, BLT) and so on. Project Management encompasses all functional areas of management. Whether all these are subsumed in one individual or performed by highly segregated and structured organizational systems, depend on the above factors . To streamline the process of Project Management and to bring in an element of predictability, consistency, professionalism & efficiency, and for purposes such as problem analysis, audit trail, compliance with standard practices, collaboration across locations, organizations and team, certain tools and techniques are put to use, as standard

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practices. Some of these practices are driven by compliance requirements, while in certain cases these are termed Standard Organizational Practices (SOPs) adopted by matured organizations. Use of tools and techniques help handle staff attrition and any reorganizations, seamlessly, promote dependence on systems rather than individuals, quality problem analysis and learnings, and thereby enable business continuity and risk management . The complex nature of Project Management demands a systems (holistic) approach to the task. Project Management has assumed dimensions beyond tools and techniques such as PERT and CPM, While resource levelling, scheduling and crashing timelines,…. using PERT/CPM techniques are essential elements of Project Management. Project Management is beyond application of Project Management tools. A Project Manager’s role is to be viewed as an efficient and effective integrator, of multiple functional disciplines. He/ she should be able to anticipate issues, judiciously balance demands from individual specialists across operational roles, as well as weigh the holistic impact of the interplay of individual functions. The project Manager must be sensitive to and focus on the higher order objectives to be achieved, and capable of prioritizing needed actions. A Project Manager is expected to have tolerance for ambiguity and appetite for risk, and embrace accountability. He will be called upon to play the role of an orchestra conductor, be decisive, open to review and criticisms, share successes and command the respect of his team.. His expected deliverables comprise expected project outcomes delivered within the constraint of achieving financial objectives,, conflict resolution and co-opting with external stakeholders/ partners in the venture, and operate within regulatory, social, legal, & contractual boundaries. He/ she needs to be a team player and an unobtrusive boss,, a mini CEO at the project level. A Project Manager’s performance is measured by the project outputs and outcome and not by the effort inputs.

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The role and expectations of the project Manager has undergone fundamental transformation in recent times. This paradigm shift is driven by evolving concepts and business models in the implementation of large projects, as an outcome of globalisation. The conventional practice of the client to subcontract the work and the project managers completing the same and handing over the physical asset. On the other hand, today’s Project Manager has to work not only in a funder-vendor-contractor segregated mode, but also in a collaborative mode to bring the partners to a common table towards the outcome objective. Evolving business models such as PPP (BOOT, BOT, BLT etc.) are built on concepts of collaboration, partnership, risk and returns sharing, synergizing individual strengths, and not focusing on restrictive policing/control functions. In a collaborative mode, returns are related to efficiency of implementation attributable to individual partners, returns allocated in proportion to risks & participation, long-term relationship among partners beyond the commissioning date, end-to-end accountability, holistic approach and involvement. Government as the major sponsorer of infrastructure sector is rediscovering its role from that of a master harnessing the private sector to that of a partner collaborating with it. This model of working makes it imperative for the government officials associated with large projects to reconfigure and visualize their role different from the past and need to be skilled on current practices & concepts, and be able to use the same for transparent and professional management. This renewed role of the sponsoring agency also calls for approach and attitudinal changes. While sound technical knowledge is considered a nonnegotiable essential prerequisite, a commercial and managerial acumen to deliver results, going beyond procedures and rules are definitely at a premuim. Rules and procedures are to be seen as aids and not impediments to perform. An effective Project Manager delivers transparently and does not hide behind rule books A Project Manager also needs to display leadership not only on the strength of his legitimate position, but also driven his supportive, collaborative and managerial qualities. Competencies include communication, persuasion and negotiation skills.

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Negotiation is the continuous process of closing the gap in perceptions / expectations among stakeholders, during the entire period of the project, keeping the end objective in focus, and protecting the organizational interest as the larger purpose. Negotiation is not confined to the negotiation of the contract value and contractual terms at the time of contract award. True negotiation is a day-to-day process to resolve operational issues that unfold during project implementation. Any interaction with an interface / stakeholder calls for negotiation, articulative and communication skills. Stakeholders include funding and regulatory agencies, local affected population, activists, or lobbyists. The Project Manager’s task calls for a balanced and holistic approach. Holistic approach does not imply chaos, but only a structured approach to recognize the complex and integrated nature of the specific tasks, at hand. Each task has a well defined and structured process, to be handled by technical / support staff, at each functional level. The Project Manager’s job involves integration, balancing, anticipation, trouble shooting, and interpretation of functional data / analyses and ensuing inputs. The Project Manager is expected to add value in the interpretation of analysis, assess relative severity resolve conflicts, be innovative in evolving solutions and take judicious decisions While wisdom is a desired quality, it is not at the compromise of knowledge. Knowledge generates command and respect, wisdom helps deliver sustainable results. A good Project Manager will be willing to strike compromises, exploit his/ her knowledge, relationship skills, taking calculated risks, communicate and convince. He/ she will, at the end of the day, be a winner for himself/ herself as well as for others. Fully focussed on winning the war, a good Project Manager may prefer to lose battles occasionally. Systems view of Project Management The need for holism (systemic view) in project management is driven by the long-term strategic implications / objectives to be achieved and the variety of stakeholders. The systems approach to Project Management ensures ownership, enhance participation level of stakeholders and reduce rework and revisit.

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The systems approach is a practical and proven approach to analyse an inter-disciplinary problem situation and aiding in complex problem-solving, under uncertainty. . The approach recognizes and identifies interactions and inter-relationships among various elements of a system The approach focuses on interaction among all stakeholders recognizing their interdependency, in the achievement of organizational and project objectives, as well as enables understanding and integration of technical and behavioural aspects

The systems approach adopts a holistic rather than a mechanistic view of the problem at hand, with emphasis on the synthesis of various elements and factors of the system, and its sub-systems.

The approach enables clear and comprehensive understanding and recognition of the issue, taking into account the functions performed by different entities, interaction among them and their inter-dependence in effectively achieving the goal The holistic approach will addresses completeness, scalability and variety, to meet future evolving requirements, and also address the level of preparedness of the existing system Infrastructure; social and physical, technology, acceptability, awareness, affordability, and adaptability.. Systems approach recognizes the analytical value of Multi-modeling techniques (systems methodologies) such as SNAC analysis (analysis of the Stakeholders, Needs, Alterables and Constraints) in any problem situation, ID (Influence Diagrams, which depicts inter relationships among entities and stakeholders), VSM (Viable Systems Model to design organizational structures)..

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Identification of interdependencies among entities : departments / sections/ stakeholders An Influence Diagram (ID) helps gain a better understanding of the scenario, where the various key entities / factors that constitute the system are identified and their interlinkages mapped and studied. This serves to highlight any missing / weak links, the effect of change in one factor on the other, and the points where any intervention is needed, to derive desirable outcomes. Please see exhibit in subsequent pages Systems Thinking Systems thinking is what all of us practice, but not necessarily consciously. As an illustration, a person walking up a mountain may see himself as a ‘climber’ or ‘mountaineer’, or a ‘stone-cutter’ working on a cathedral building project may see his role as someone cutting stones or ‘cathedral-builder’, depending on whether his approach is narrow or systems approach. His perception of what he is doing will determine his attitude and approach to his work. Certain key dimensions of Systems Approach are: –

It adopts a holistic view

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Will have an integrated problem-solving methodology

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Have a multi-dimensional perspective

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Outscoping – searching for what is behind and beyond the obvious

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May have multiple solutions to achieve the same objective

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Context-specific appropriateness in actions

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“Choice” based on available information

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Fallibility of the decision-maker

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Synergy / Symphony effect

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Whole is greater than the sum of parts – Contrast Division of Labour Vs Union of Minds

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A System involves •

Elements that are large in number and of high variety

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Complex interplay of elements

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Context-specific variations

It is very natural to every individual and is part of his everyday experience. Everyone has it, but it is not consciously used. Some instances are in the thought process involved in choosing a career, joining a project,… An event manager has to necessarily have a systems approach to his role, for effective delivery and he practices it most naturally.

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Unfortunately it is less used in Project Management, where we tend to adopt a fragmented / departmental / task approach, rather than an objective-oriented one

• • The exhibit below pictorially depicts a systems view of a complex project situation with several elements influencing and interacting with each other, not necessarily in the same way always, but can vary over rime and depending on context.

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9 Status Report

84 Allocated Manpower Assessment

6 IT Industry's Growth

7 Project Nature

85 Team Size 81 Coding

8 Feedback Time & Quality

79 Internal Reviews

1 Client's Knowledge

2 Client's Expectations

14 Resource Estimation

37 H/W & S/W Availability 27 Client-Consultant Interaction

36 Tools Availability

86 Team Composition 19 Project Specific Skills 35 Reallocation

23 Team Skills

4 Client's Satisfaction

74 Quality Factors 78 System Design

82 Testing

10 Client's Participation 3 Clients Commitment

62 Study Of Existing 80 Creative Thinking System

28 Productivity

16 Manpower Allocated

42 Technical Environment

65 Request for Change

63 International Laws 69 Organisation's Growth

45 Manpower Turnover

33 Schedule Pressure 17 Project Training

20 Standards & Guidelines

15 Team Communication

47 Profit 41 Corporate Realization Policies

5 Business Requirments

38 Support Facilities 58 Clients Budget

21 SRS

31 Quality

64 Benefits Perceived by Client

76 Risk Management 43 Organization's Image

57 Project Monitoring 40 Govt Policies

53 Recruitment

73 Project Strategy 67 Project Scope

49 Knowledge Consolidation

59 Undetected Errors

68 Anticipated Skills 61 Productivity Norms

46 Manpower Availability 51 Training Programmes

39 Allocation Procedures

55 Post Project Appraisal

60 Configuration Management

48 On-Going Projects 52 Scheduling

50 Project Priority

32 Motivation

22 Team Organisation

44 Work Environment

18 QA

24 Work Progress

29 Rework

71 Project Planning

72 Methodology

13 URS 25 Errors

70 Validation By Client

11 Requirments Elicitation

12 Technology 83 Documentation Planning

26 Learning

75 Reusability

77 Process Measurements

54 Business Environment

34 Time and Cost Overruns

30 Maintenance

66 Identified Requirments

56 Work Brakedown Process

Influence Diagram

Systems Approach Traditional Approach Following are some of the attributes of a traditional (non-systems approach) towards handling a project: –

Fragments the whole (problem) into parts

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Assigns specialists for each part

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Attempts to provide optimal/ perfect solution for each part

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Assembles back the parts to obtain “optimised” solution for the whole (problem)

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Banks on specialists who know “more & more of less & less”

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Ignores effects of entropy

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Assumes individual efficiency will always lead to group efficiency

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Entropy / cacophony? Whole is less than the sum of parts

An example is Marketing/Design/Production/Support in manufacturing organizations. Principles of “Systems Approach” –

Addresses the problem situation from different angles

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Recognizes the interconnectedness of all components and arrives at the problem boundary

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Studies the dynamic behavior of the system

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Possesses ability to represent complex system

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Systematic but probabilistic method of analysis and synthesis

Why “Systems Approach” for Project Managers? –

As a Team Member in a Project, the expectation would be : “You Tell” “I Do”

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As a Project Manager, the considerations would be : •

What to “Tell”

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“How to Tell” so that it is done

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Attitude of “Enquire/Challenge”

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Understanding the larger picture

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The exhibit below is a simple example of how perceptions and understanding of a problem transitions when there are several intervening communication layers

REFERENCES 1. HEART OF THE ENTERPRISE – Stafford Beer 2. BRAIN OF THE FIRM – Stafford Beer 3. SOCIETIAL SYSTEMS – John Warfield 4. LIVING SYSTEMS THEORY – James Grier Miller

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